To What Divides Us
by Chibi-Chichan
Summary: The black blood acts like a poison spreading through Maka and the only cure is for Soul to keep his distance; to cease being Maka's scythe. No matter how painful the separation is, Soul's determined to have Maka live. Even if leaving her side hurts her.


**To What Divides Us**

The black blood acts like a poison spreading through Maka and the only cure is for Soul to keep his distance; to cease being Maka's scythe. No matter how painful the separation is, Soul's determined to have Maka live. Even if leaving her side hurts her.

A/N: How could I _not_ write a Soul Eater fic? And how could I _not_ write a SoulxMaka fic? Of course I had to! And... erm, sorry that it's such a serious storyline too. D: I usually write humour fics, but, this was a storyline that just popped into my head. And, I don't think this will actually be long. I'm assuming around 4-5 chapters, seriously. XD So please, enjoy.

...

A loud and harsh cough rattled Maka's body, preceding a succession of similar coughs that caused Soul's ears to perk up whilst slicing the vegetables for the night's dinner.

Turning his head towards his technician, Soul's brows creased together in concern as he watched Maka wince and rub delicately at her throat. "Oi, are you okay?" he asked, eyes never leaving Maka's slightly pained face.

Maka's head shot up and she glanced in her scythe's direction, noticing his concerned expression before forcing a grimace of a smile, as if she were in some sort of pain and willing it away. "It's fine. Just a cough," she insisted before nodding her head at the vegetables that still needed to be cut. "Come on, those vegetables can't cut themselves can they?" she said with that smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

Soul studied Maka's expression carefully. He knew that the coughs were not a good sign and yet understood that Maka did not want to trouble or worry him. Yet her actions only aided in making him more concerned. "Maka," he began seriously, crimson eyes locked with the young technician's emerald ones.

There was a pause that Maka hesitated to fill in. "Yes?"

Eyes still holding Maka's, Soul lowered his gaze once more to the vegetables at hand and sighed, deciding against any sort of lecture. "Take care of yourself, will you?" he requested softly, so soft that it was as if he were only speaking to the deaf vegetables underneath his hands that he slowly proceeded to slice in the silence that filled the room, his head bowed and refusing to be raised.

"Soul?"

"Mm?"

In the silence that followed, Soul growled (annoyed by the quietness of the room), raising his head to glimpse the technician before him, giggling behind her hand as she watched him. He raised a brow before grunting, "What is it?"

"Soul," Maka began, an unsuppressed smile lighting her face. "You're like a doting mother, you know that?"

An uncomfortable tinge of rouge spread across Soul's cheeks, his ears slowly glowing red with embarrassment also. "Go away tiny breasts!" he cried abruptly, wishing the heat from his face would vanish and not exactly thinking about what he was saying.

Several veins popped out on Maka's forehead and Soul, realising what he had called her, prepared himself for Maka Albarn's deathly and infamous chop, praying that somehow, mercy would grace him today. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

"MAKA CHOP!" the female technician roared, the sound of a book violently colliding with the top of a skull resounding throughout the shared apartment.

"I'm sorry, Maka..." Soul mumbled into the floor as he held his head, smoke rising from the top of it from the sheer impact of Maka's monstrous chops.

"You should finish dinner soon. It's getting late," Maka explained, her tone holding some irritation still. Suddenly, she held up a hand to her mouth, a gesture that signalled a preparation to cough, before side-glancing at Soul, who gazed up at her, his brows creased together and mouth pulled into a frown. Holding her breath, Maka forced the cough away, her body trembling and her head ready to explode from the pressure to cough. As the urgency faded away, Maka let out her breath in a sigh and smiled down reassuringly at Soul. "See? I'm fine. I'll be studying, so tell me when dinner's ready, okay?" she said brightly, turning away before anything else could be said and heading to her room to study.

Soul watched her retreating back before pushing himself up onto his feet and proceeding to prepare dinner for the two of them.

By the time dinner was prepared, Soul wandered towards Maka's room, only to hear the tap running in the bathroom as he passed it. He paused outside the bathroom door and knocked upon it. "Maka, dinner's ready!" he called through it, pausing for some sort of response.

Instead, all he heard were harsh and loud coughs that echoed and were amplified by the tiled bathroom, causing his eyes to widen as he forced the door open, finding Maka bent over the sink, unable to suppress the painful coughs that tore through her throat.

"Maka!" Soul placed an arm around his technician to support her, using his free hand to brush her hair back away from her face as the coughs caused her to throw up into the sink, his eyes widening in horror at the sight of black blood splattering on the pristine cream-coloured sink. Swiftly, he swept her up into his arms as she finished, black blood staining her lips, and dashed out of the bathroom with the dazed Maka, clinging loosely to him.

She gazed up, in her dazed and confused state, at the anxious Soul as he kicked open their apartment's front door, rushing over the threshold and into the cold night air, her weak voice reaching his ears. "Soul...? Where are we going...?" More coughs shook her body.

Glancing down at the suddenly fragile girl in his arms, Soul did not conceal his concern and determination. "Don't worry Maka. I'm taking you to the infirmary. Don't worry," he repeated as if to ensure that she understood that her safety was important to him.

Maka closed her eyes and pulled herself a little closer to her scythe, his warmth radiating in the rush of the night's chilly air, attempting to suppress further painful coughs from rising. _Silly,_ she thought as Soul continued to race towards the Shibusen infirmary_. _"There's no need to worry," she spoke quietly, "Soul's here."

A small grin broke onto Soul's face. "Yeah, that cool guy's here to take care of you."

...

"What's wrong with her?" Soul asked as he gazed down at Maka, who had fallen asleep whilst he carried her to the infirmary, her chest rising and falling rhythmically, peacefully, as if her coughing fits had not even occurred.

Slipping off the stethoscope, Mira Nygus, the school's interim nurse, pulled away from Maka's bed, having finished with her examination of the young technician. "She's very tired right now, so we should let her rest," explained Mira as she motioned for Soul to follow her out of the room. She knew that disagreement and an argument would occur on the off-chance that Maka would wake up and decided that it was best to have a discussion outside with Soul alone. He had to understand the importance of this situation and the extreme risk that Maka was placing herself in whenever she was in his presence. "Soul," she began in a grave tone after she had closed the door of the infirmary. "Maka is not well. There is something that is causing her severe damage internally; her cardiovascular system is deteriorating and her WBC is high. Since her cardiovascular system is being targeted, we could assume that it is either a very specific virus, or that there is poison present within Maka's body."

"Poison?"

Mira nodded, continuing: "Also, you stated that Maka was vomiting before arriving here and that there was black blood coming out of her."

Soul pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze, shoving his hands into his pockets. The black blood within her was his fault. Was that the reason why Maka was sick?

"Soul," Mira began, the seriousness of her tone causing the white-haired boy to raise his gaze once more to hers. "The poison is certainly the black blood within her system. I wish to monitor her progress further, however, without you present."

"What-"

Raising her hand so she could continue speaking, Mira added, "I want to test whether or not my theory is correct. I believe that the black blood may only be activated due to the constant amount of time Maka spends within your presence. The black blood… did it originate from you?"

Once more, Soul looked away, jaw clenched as he realised that he was the sole cause of Maka's illness. "Yeah… it did."

"I see. Well… please allow me to continue monitoring her for the next day or so. If any improvements are made, we can assume that your presence influences the speed at which the black blood spreads and attacks Maka's systems. If there are no improvements… you're welcome to come back to see her, Soul," Mira explained emphatically, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I know that she means a lot to you. I'll make sure to keep you up to date on her progress."

Soul shook Mira's hand off his shoulders, shrugging casually as he walked away, forcing a smile. "Heh, this cool guy isn't some stupid worry wart. You don't worry about me and just keep an eye on Maka for me, will you?" And with that and his hands shoved deep into his pockets whilst kicking at the floor, Soul walked away, prepared to do whatever it took to help Maka fight off the poison within her body. Even if he didn't truly want to leave her side.

...

"MAAAAKKKAAAAAAAA! MAAAKKKAAA!" sobbed Death Scythe as he leapt towards Maka's bed, arms outstretched and prepared to embrace his unimpressed and annoyed daughter. Unfortunately for him, his unimpressed and annoyed daughter's book met his face in a very painful way, causing him to slump onto the floor, twitching from the agony.

A vein pulsed visibly in Maka's forehead. "Don't try jumping onto me like that, even if I'm sick, _weirdo_," she said coldly, an invisible arrow striking and wounding her father in the chest.

"Oh, Maka! MAAKKKAAAA!" Death Scythe continued to sob, a hand clutching his aching heart. "I only wished to show Papa's loving concern! Papa's loving concern!"

"Calm down, will you Spirit?" Stein said with a sigh as he took a seat beside Maka's bed.

Maka sweat dropped at the sight of Stein sitting casually beside her bed, preparing to light up a cigarette. "Hey… you can't light those in here. And besides, what're _you_ doing here anyway?" she asked, sweat dropping further as she was ignored and Stein intentionally blew smoke into her face.

"Well, you're one of my pupils aren't you?" he stated with albeit a twisted smirk as Maka coughed and desperately waved away the smoke from around her face. "And besides, it's highly amusing to be here with the chance to operate on you whilst you sleep," he explained casually, Maka's jaw dropping in horror and disgust.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" both Maka and Death Scythe yelled, fists clenched. "GET OUT OF HERE, SCUM!"

"Hey, hey, take a joke will you two?" Stein mumbled, leaning back into his chair, insistent in remaining as he took another drag from his cigarette. "And besides, I should visit before this room becomes filled with all your friends, right? It'll be too congested by that time."

"You still don't need to come anyway," Death Scythe grumbled in irritation.

Maka's eyes lit up hopefully at Stein's words. "Tsubaki, Liz and Patty dropped by in the morning and said they would visit again with Black Star and Kidd," she paused, raising a dark blonde brow in confusion, "I think Liz said she was bringing something for me... and Soul should be coming too," she explained logically, smiling contently to herself.

Death Scythe glanced at Stein who continued to study Maka's expression, smoke slowly rising from the cigarette that was loosely held up by his lips, face blank of emotion. "Maka, I'm not sure Soul will be visiting today," he said bluntly, receiving an exasperated look from Death Scythe who made some silencing motions.

Maka's eyebrows rose questioningly as she turned her full attention to the doctor. "Why not?"

"He was absent from class today," Stein continued in his frank manner, Death Scythe continuing to frantically wave at him from behind Maka's head to remain silent about the matter.

"He was _away_? What an idiot," Maka sighed, hand to her forehead in disappointment. "He better not have gone off with Black Star to join in on the stupid things that he does..." Maka murmured, brow twitching the more she thought about it. Th last time that Soul had been intentionally away from class was when he and Black Star teamed up against Kidd when he first arrived at school and were shamefully beaten up by him, only in succeeding in causing Kidd to faint after cutting off a section of his hair. That thought just caused Maka a headache.

Stein studied Maka for a moment before speaking up once more. "Maka."

"Yes?"

His eyes narrowed. "Are you feeling better in comparison to yesterday?"

"Eh?" Maka's brows raised once more and she glanced to the left, attempting to recall how she felt the day before and slowly began to nod her head. "Well… I guess so. I haven't been coughing as much… and I don't feel as tired," she mumbled, returning her gaze to Stein's serious one. "Why?" she queried, tilting her head to the side as Stein simply nodded in response and rose from his seat. "Dr. Stein?" she called as Stein headed towards the infirmary door.

He glanced back over his shoulder, giving Maka a reassuring smile as he opened the door to leave. "Well, it's good you're feeling better," he simply said before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind himself.

Death Scythe grimaced. _He's going to report to Nygus of Maka's improvement._

"Papa."

Maka's voice cut through Death Scythe's thoughts and he turned his attention back to his young daughter. "Yes, Maka?" He smiled, wondering if Mira was right and that Maka was only ill because of the black blood from Soul.

Looking down at her hands, Maka fidgeted with them, biting her bottom lip as she hesitated to speak. Deciding against it, she simply shook her head. "It's nothing..." she mumbled.

Before Death Scythe to question her, Mira stepped into the room, brightly greeting Maka's father. "Hello, just here to do the routine procedure of gastric decontamination," she explained as she stopped at Maka's bed.

Maka made a face. "Not this..."

"It's alright, Maka! Papa is here!" Death Scythe declared, clasping Maka's hands together bravely.

Letting out an amused laugh, Mira patted Death Scythe on the shoulder. "I don't think you really should. I'm going to be completing a Whole Bowel Irrigation."

"Know that Papa is cheering for you, even if he's not present in this room!" Death Scythe exclaimed hurriedly as he quickly exited the room, throwing a nervous thumbs up over his shoulder.

Laughing in amusement again, Mira turned her attention back to Maka, pulling out a bottle of pills from her pocket and at the sight of it, Maka asked, "Is that the polyethylene glycol you mentioned earlier?"

"Well, that is the basic ingredient of this laxative," Mira confirmed with a nod, handing one pill to Maka who stared down at it in the palm of her hand in distaste.

"Why do I have to take this again?" she mumbled, preparing herself for the awful taste that would certainly invade her tastebuds.

"It's to cleanse your bowel like I informed your father and it's just to make sure that we've flushed out all of the poison that could possibly be accumulating within your intestinal tracks that you may not be aware of," the interim nurse explained, waiting patiently for Maka to concede and swallow the pill. Once she did so, Mira nodded in approval and mentioned that Maka's friends would be arriving soon as she headed towards the door to leave.

At those words, Maka could not help but wish to speak up but had no time to say anything as Mira closed the door firmly behind her, leaving the young meister alone in the room to her own thoughts. Or so she thought this was the case.

Abruptly, the door to the infirmary flew open as Liz and Patty ran enthusiastically into the room, holding up bags of what appeared to be clothing from what Maka could decipher from the label printed onto the plastic bags.

"TA-DAH!' Liz and Patty cried excitedly, holding up the bags over Maka's head as if they were a glorious prize.

"...eh?" was all Maka could manage before both Liz and Patty seized either one of her arms.

"We bought you some clothes Maka! We thought you might've have been so bored here and remembered you mentioning you needed a change of clothes and we went over to your place but strangely enough Soul wasn't even there! So we decided, why not buy Maka some new clothes, right Patty?" Liz explained hurriedly as she sifted through the plastic bags with her free arm.

"That's right! Kyahahah!" Patty laughed as she also sifted through the other bags that she had been carrying.

"EH?" Maka cried. "What about So-"

"Here we go! This would suit you perfectly!" Liz exclaimed, holding up a bright yellow sleeveless blouse against Maka's chest.

"...it's really puffy around the chest area..." Maka commented, brow twitching.

"It's to give an illusion!" Liz enthused, clasping her hands together and shining, as if awed by her own brilliance.

"What illusion?" asked Maka, eye twitching convulsively.

"Oi, Maka! I bought you a gift!" Black Star declared upon entry into the room, stopping in his tracks as all three girls in the room turned their attention to him, the yellow blouse still pinned against Maka's front. "Oh..." he muttered, turning on his heel to leave, "Must be in the wrong room. Who _is_ that fake breasted little girl?"

As Kidd and Tsubaki entered the room, they found that they had to step over an injured Black Star, who had nearly died from a well-placed and violently flung book to the back of the cranium.

"Kyahahahaha! Great aim, Maka!" Patty exclaimed, in hysterics on the floor.

"MAKA! How dare you do this to the great Black Star! I'm greater than god you know?" were the first few words that spouted from Black Star's mouth as he pushed himself up off the floor, pointing accusingly at Maka. "For that, you're not getting the honourable gift, that I, Black Star was willing to bestow upon you!" he yelled, waving around the bag he held in his hand as if to cause regret or guilt to stir within the female technician he addressed.

Seizing the vase on the small cabinet beside her bed, Maka bashed it against the cabinet, breaking it easily and violently, her eyes flaring with unsuppressed anger. "Who asked for your crappy gifts anyway? And where the hell did you pick up that kind of language?" she raged, also waving around the object in her hand, yet this object being highly dangerous and pointy in comparison to Black Star's.

Death the Kidd sighed, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Why do these two enjoy arguing and disagreeing with one another?" he mumbled to himself.

Praying that a fight wouldn't break out considering Maka's condition, Tsubaki laughed nervously. "I think it's their way of showing how strong their friendship is," she guessed, sweat dropping as Black Star flung Maka's book back at her.

Sweat dropping also, Kidd watched the broken vase soar across the room over their heads as the dispute continued. "By violence?" he asked, only to receive another nervous laugh from Tsubaki, before both of their jaws dropped in shock as the vase stabbed into Black Star's forehead.

"IT BURNS!" screeched Black Star, yanking the glass vase out of his head, blood spurting from the wound in his forehead.

Liz sweat dropped. "How the hell would it 'burn'?"

Stopping suddenly, Black Star turned to Maka, hands up in defeat. "Oi, oi, Maka! Don't worry. I'm so awesome that I'll just let that matter go now and give you my gift anyways!" Black Star said with a pleasant grin, approaching Maka's bed with the plastic bag still in hand, forehead still spurting blood.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want it!"

"Too bad! Here you go!"

"IT'S A COCKROACH! GGGGAAHHHHHHHH! I'LL KILL YOU BLACK STAR!"

"Don't worry I have more gifts for you at home!"

"Amazing! This cockroach is perfectly symmetrical!" cried Kidd as he gazed upon the insect that scuttled about along Maka's bed.

"You keep it then Kidd!" Maka sobbed, attempting to swat the cockroach off of her bed.

'Don't even think about it, Kidd!" Liz growled warningly. "I don't want that thing in the house!"

With sparkling eyes, Kidd caught the cockroach and held it up. "But Liz, how could you say no to this wonderfully created creature of symmetry?" he asked, eyes shining.

"GO DIE."

Tsubaki sweat dropped, attempting to place a band-aid on Black Star's forehead whilst Patty continued to be in hysterics on the floor.

"Well, we should get going now," Kidd said, with a nod to Maka who smiled in return.

"Thanks for coming you guys," she replied as everyone prepared to leave the room.

"I'll see you tomorrow with another gift, Maka!" Black Star said with a grin as he saluted Maka who simply sent a withering glare in his direction.

"_You're_ not welcome back," she growled threateningly, itching to grab the book on the cabinet beside her and fling it expertly at his head.

Before Black Star stepped out of the room however, Maka called out to him, causing him to turn to her in surprise. His face broke out into a grin. "What? Want to bask further in my superiority? It's okay since you're little and I'm just a big star! People get like that when they see me and my awesomeness!" he explained airily, hands on hips and chest pushed out proudly.

Suppressing the urge to either burst out laughing or really seize that book and fling it at his face, Maka simply smiled, lowering her gaze to her hands as she thought for a moment. She pressed her hands together tightly and bit her lip, her hair falling over her eyes. Raising her head once more, her eyes meeting Black Star's ones, she parted her lips to speak before hesitating once more.

Staring at her, Black Star folded his hands behind his head, grinning. "Come on, Maka. It hasn't even been an entire day yet, I'm sure Soul's fine," he reassured her, mischievous grin fixed in place.

Jaw dropping and brow twitching, Maka shook her head vigorously, stammering, "Wh-what? I'm not worried about him! You didn't even let me say anything!" With that, all Maka received from Black Star was an all-knowing unpleasant grin, more sweat accumulating on her brow as she continued to argue weakly. "Wh-what? What's with that look? Don't make me hit you."

Black Star pressed a his fingertips to his lips, laughing mischievously, irritating Maka further. "Don't worry Maka, I get you. I _am_ the great Black Star anyway," he said with a grin as he jabbed his thumb at his chest. "And besides, we're cool right? Forget about earlier, y'know?" Black Star asked, returning to Maka's side, hand extended and grin ever-present on his face.

Staring at her aquamarine-haired friend's outstretched hand, Maka smiled brightly reaching forward to shake Black Star's hand. "Of course we are," she said with a smile as she was about to close her hand around Black Star's.

"HAH-HAH! I kid!" Black Star announced, withdrawing his hand quickly, bursting out into laughter as several veins popped out on Maka's head. "But, you know, I really do get you Maka," he said with one last fleeting smile before quickly exiting the infirmary, snapping the door shut as Maka's book soared across the room, leaving a smoking dent in the door.

Maka turned away from the door huffily, cheeks tinged rouge. "Idiot," she grumbled.

...

The apartment was unmistakably the correct one, they had been there several times before and yet Tsubaki insisted that the only person home that day was Blair, who answered the door earlier that day, wearing one of her inappropriately sexy clothing that Tsubaki had glanced away from, embarrassed. The cat witch had explained that Soul was no where to be found.

"What do you mean, Tsubaki? Where's Soul?" Black Star asked as he continued to hammer on the front door of the apartment, inconsiderate of the fellow tenants in the apartment building. "And why's nobody answering?"

"I heard that... Blair-san... works..." Tsubaki put simply, avoiding mentioning where exactly she worked.

Black Star persisted in hammering on the front door before beginning to punch the walls. "Oi! Soul, I know you're in there! Why aren't you coming to see Maka?" he asked as he consistently knocked on the door and punched the walls.

"Bl-Black Star! You might break the walls if you're not careful!" cried Tsubaki, eyes wide at Black Star's aggressive actions.

"Soul!" Black Star continued to call through the door, slamming his fist repeatedly onto the door and ignoring Tsubaki's warning. "Soul!" he yelled again before stopping his fists, silence filling the entire hallway as he leaned his forehead against the door of the apartment. "You better not make her cry you know. Quit making her wait for you, idiot!" He shouted before kicking the door brutally, causing it to cave in and hang on one hinge, revealing the apartment within with no sign of Soul.

"Bl-Black Star..." Tsubaki stammered, horrified as she stared at the broken apartment door.

Heaving his chest in agitation, Black Star turned on his heel. "Let's go Tsubaki. Maka asked to see Soul, but for some reason, he's being too much of a wimp to see her," he called loudly over his shoulder, glancing at the inside of the apartment.

Hesitating, Tsubaki glanced back at the broken apartment door. "But Black Star... the door..." she mumbled, indecisive.

"It's fine, let's go Tsubaki."

"Okay," the dark haired demon blade replied, before bowing to the apartment door. "I'm sorry Soul, I hope Black Star didn't trouble you," she said as she straightened back up. "Black Star's just concerned," she explained, smiling fondly.

There was a pause before a voice spoke from inside the apartment. "Did she really call for me?"

Tsubaki tilted her head to the side, smiling more sadly this time. He really had been attempting to avoid being confronted. "Yes, she did."

There was another pause before Soul, leaning against the wall beside the broken down door, said quietly, "I can't see her Tsubaki."

Silence filled the place once more and breaking it, Tsubaki simply bowed again towards the apartment door, brows creased together in concern. "I understand," she replied before straightening up and hurrying away to catch up to Black Star who waited at the end of the hallway, scowl on his face.

Meanwhile, Soul placed a hand over his face and breathed deeply, filling his lungs with air and his mind with thoughts of a certain dark haired blonde. Shaking his head, he pushed off of the wall he leaned against and attempted to fix the door to clear his mind.

It would be impossible for him to see Maka.

...

End of Chapter One.

Hohohoho, that's the end of the chapter. LULZ, I said it was going to be serious (it kind of is) but I ended up chucking in some humour because, seriously, everyone would be OOC if they weren't doing or saying at least one stupid or funny thing. XD (Well, that's my opinion and I'm so used to random hilarious moments in Soul Eater which usually occur during a particularly serious time. XD) Wow, what a long chapter and really didn't get anywhere, LOL. Please excuse my attempt at medical shizz. I'm hopeless at that stuff so just ignore that shizz. (And I want to be a doctor, LULZ. DD:) By the way, can someone tell me if your leukocytes really increase when you're poisoned? XD Oh yeah, and I'll clear up issues on the black blood thing later before anyone asks. But anyway, please kindly leave a review!


End file.
